Field hockey: Sailors fall in overtime

Tony Altobelli

HUNTINGTON BEACH - The Newport Harbor High field hockey team had

one of its most successful seasons in school history and not even a 1-0

overtime loss to Marina in Saturday’s finals of the Tournament of

Champions at Pleasant View Elementary can take that away, according to

Coach Sharon Wolfe.

“It was very nice to see us get this far,” Wolfe said. “It was our

first-ever trip to the TofC finals and this year and our varsity and JV

teams each won league and the Orange County Invitational, something that

had never been done before. It’s been an incredible ride.”

Unfortunately for the Sailors (19-4-1) that ride came to a screeching

halt when Marina’s Heather Kindschi took a crossing pass from Chelsea

Davis and scored nearly three minutes into the 7-on-7 overtime period.

“Marina is the fastest team, by far,” Wolfe said. “That was only the

second time all year that we’ve gone 7-on-7. I think our reserve energy

tanks were on empty at that point.”

The win for Marina (20-3-2) helps atone for the two losses and one tie

suffered at the hands of Newport throughout this season.

“We couldn’t have beaten a better team than Newport,” Coach Chris Gray

said. “The girls came out ready to play. On the goal, we tried to hit it

down the right side to open the field up. Chelsea got it and sent it back

to Heather on the left side.”

The Vikings controlled the offensive flow of the game for most of the

first half, but the Sailors’ defense held strong.

Sarah Green, Allison McKenzie and Athena Vasquez, among others,

stopped numerous scoring opportunities and sent many balls out of

Newport’s arc.

The Sailors came out in the second half and put some more pressure on

Marina’s defense. Lauren Birchfield and Elizabeth Evans each had

opportunities to score, but Vikings’ goalie Lissette Kocka was up to the

test.

“We had some chances, but we weren’t keeping control of our passes,”

Wolfe said. “I knew at the OC Invitational that this was the team to

beat.”

Five Sailors, Green, Evans, Vasquez, Megan Moss, and Kim Erickson were

all named to the all-tournament team.